109-year-old(!) veteran throws out 1st pitch to kick off O's season

You might consider throwing out the first pitch on Opening Day to be among the greatest honors one can receive in baseball, the kind usually reserved for legendary franchise players and local heroes returning home with Olympic medals.

Arthur Green, who threw out the first pitch ahead of the Orioles' 2-1 Opening Day victory over the Twins on Thursday at Camden Yards, holds a different distinction.

Green, a diehard Orioles fan, is 109 years old. As such, he has literally borne witness to the entire history of the modern Orioles, who relocated from St. Louis to Baltimore in 1954 -- when Green, already a veteran of two wars, was in his late 30s.

Last December, as a nod to his many years of service -- both to his community and his favorite ballclub -- Green was named the Orioles' 2026 Mo Gaba Fan of the Year, a representative for the entire Orioles fan base that serves as the club's unofficial "10th man" at each season's home opener.

Although those honors were new, Green is no stranger to a Camden Yards first pitch. He'd thrown one before, as a younger man -- of 106 years old -- back in August 2023. His daughter Myra, who served as his escort on Thursday, previously told WMAR 2 News Baltimore that her father had considered that to be the "happiest day of his life."

Presumably, this one was, somehow, even better.